Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) is a family of enzymes that play a critical role in detoxification of many cytotoxic xenogenic and biogenic aldehydes. The ALDH family includes at least 11 members with different substrate specificity and cellular localization. Accumulation of cytotoxic aldehyde compounds, or defects in ALDH genes, have been implicated in a variety of diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, myocardial infarction, stroke, and diseases related to accumulation of acetaldehyde from alcohol intake.
There is a need in the art for compounds that modulate the activity of ALDH enzymes, and for methods of rational design of such compounds.
Literature
Perez-Miller and Hurley (2003) Biochem. 42:7100; Larson et al. (2005) J. Biol. Chem. 280:30550; and Li et al. (2006) J. Clin. Invest. 116:506.